CESSNA Models 172R and 172S airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1273; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-045-AD; Amendment 39-17350; AD 2013-03-15] – requires installation of forward and aft fuel return line support clamps and brackets; inspection for a minimum clearance between the fuel return line assembly and the steering tube assembly and clearance between the fuel return line assembly and the airplane structure; and, if any damage is found, replacement of the fuel return line assembly.
BELL Model 212, 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B and 210 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0098; Directorate Identifier 2011-SW-039-AD; Amendment 39-17339; AD 2013-03-16] – superseding an AD for Model 212 helicopters and adopting requirements for Bell Model 204B, 205A, 205A-1, 205B and 210 helicopters with certain part-numbered main rotor hub inboard strap fittings. This AD requires magnetic particle inspecting (MPI) the fittings for a crack, and if a crack exists, replacing the fittings with airworthy fittings.
40 Years Ago Feb. 27, 1973 – Cessna reveals plans to produce a second business jet, designated the series 600, that it says would be a “highly advanced airplane, flying at airline speed” and that it “should fill nearly every need for business jet transportation not now provided by the Citation.” 30 Years Ago
Italian business aircraft manufacturer Piaggio and Selex Electronic Systems are working together to produce an unmanned variant of the P-180 Avanti executive turboprop aircraft.
ABU DHABI – Ankara has chosen Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to lead the development of the country’s first truly indigenous helicopter. An executive committee of senior government officials, including Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan, gave the go-ahead for the project in late 2012. According to Yilmaz Guldogan, vice president of strategy and technology management at TAI, a deal should be signed in the second half of this year, with the aircraft’s development expected to take between four and five years.
Beechcraft and BAE Systems have completed the first flight of a specially modified BAe 146 transport aircraft for the U.K. Royal Air Force. The U.K. Defense Ministry purchased two ex-TNT Airlines BAe 146-200QTs in early 2012 as part of an urgent operational requirement to support and boost passenger and cargo transport capability in Afghanistan. The aircraft were delivered to BAE and Beechcraft Global Customer Support under a £15.5 million ($24.3 million) deal.
Associated Air Center in Dallas signed a deal to provide heavy maintenance, major cabin refurbishments and interior systems upgrades on a Boeing Business Jet for a Far Eastern head of state. The work will continue over the next several months and include a 12-year maintenance check and landing gear overhaul, a new cabin management system, new inflight entertainment and refurbishment of all soft goods in the interior.
BOMBARDIER Model CL-600-1A11 (CL-600), CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), and CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, & CL-604 Variants) airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-0725; Directorate Identifier 2011-NM-207-AD; Amendment 39-17343; AD 2013-03-08] – requires revising the maintenance program. This AD was prompted by reports of cracking found on the upper and lower web of the engine support beam.
TURBOMECA Arrius Models 2B, 2B1, and 2F turboshaft engines [Docket No. FAA-2013-0024; Directorate Identifier 2000-NE-12-AD] – proposes to supersede an existing AD that currently requires replacement of injector manifolds and borescope-inspection of the flame tube and the high-pressure (HP) turbine area for possible damage. Since FAA issued that AD, it received a report that the corrective actions of the existing AD were insufficient to eliminate the unsafe condition.
FlightSafety International is planning to install its third Gulfstream G650 full-flight simulator at its Long Beach, Calif., center in early 2014. The company currently offers G650 training using its first two G650 simulators in Savannah, Ga.
Bombardier is pushing off the expected entry-into-service date for its Learjet 85 until summer 2014, citing “several new technology challenges” associated with the development of a composite aircraft. The company had originally hoped to begin delivery of its largest and first all-composite Learjet before the end of 2013. But as the year began, the aircraft still had not flown, and Bombardier has not wanted to give a target for when the first flight might occur.
The U.S. Air Force now plans to announce the winner of its Light Air Support contract on Feb. 27. A decision had once been expected in January. The Air Force originally awarded the contract to a Sierra Nevada/Embraer team, but rebid it after Beechcraft contested the award. Beechcraft, which views its military/special mission business as a critical part of its future, has had considerable success with U.S. military awards.
PACIFIC AEROSPACE Models FU24-954 and FU24A-954 airplanes [Docket No. FAA-2012-1251; Directorate Identifier 2012-CE-044-AD; Amendment 39-17335; AD 2013-03-01] – supersedes an existing AD specifies operating limitations for the engines during parachute operations. That AD stemmed from mandatory continuing airworthiness information from the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, which cites reports of aircraft operating outside the aft center gravity (C of G) limits during parachute drop operations. Exceeding C of G limits could result in loss of airplane control.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association continues to expand with the addition of three new members – CubCrafters, SimCom, and Taylor-Deal Aviation. The newest additions bring GAMA’s membership to more than 80 companies. CubCrafters, founded in 1980 by current owner and President Jim Richmond, produces both standard and light-sport aircraft from its facilities at McAllister Field Airport (YKM) in Yakima, Wash. SimCom provides training from its facilities in Orlando, Fla.; Glendale and Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Dallas/Fort Worth.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators are trying to determine why the pilots of a Beechcraft 390 Premier IA business jet aborted a landing at Thomson-McDuffie County Airport, Ga., before the aircraft struck a utility pole and crashed late Feb. 20, killing all five passengers aboard. The two pilots aboard the flight survived.
DuPage Airport in West Chicago recently completed a 1,343-ft. extension of its secondary runway. The extension, which brings the runway to 6,350 ft., provides the airport with two runways capable of accommodating large corporate jets. The primary runway, at 7,570 ft., is the second longest in the Chicago area after O’Hare International Airport. The $3.5 million project was completed following six months of construction and a five-year FAA approval process.
BRIAN PANNING was appointed as a sales director for Tempus Aircraft Sales & Service, an Englewood, Colo.-based authorized sales and service center for Piper and Pilatus aircraft. Panning will be responsible for Pilatus aircraft sales in Southern California, and new and used jet acquisition and sales worldwide. He has more than 30 years of aviation industry experience, most recently as the Western Pacific U.S. sales director for Hawker Beechcraft. He has also worked with Gulfstream and Galaxy and served as vice president of sales at Jeteffect.
Business aircraft activity has begun to pick up this year, with flight hours improving in all jet categories and Part 135 hours jumping 13.8% in January, according to the latest report from industry analyst Argus. Business aircraft traffic overall was up 1.7% in January, compared with the same month in 2012. All categories of business jets posted gains, with mid-cabins improving the most at 4.1%. Small cabins followed at 2.1%, while large cabin business jet flight hours tracked with the overall gains at 1.7%.
JACK MILL has become vice president of engineering for Piper Aircraft, taking on the role he has held on an interim basis for several months. Mill has more than 30 years of aircraft design and engineering experience. He has served with the company since 1985, and held positions in design, engineering management and Piper’s delegated FAA organization.
Bombardier saw a dramatic jump in its Aerospace backlog in 2012 to $32.9 billion, but the company is cautiously scaling up production this year. Bombardier’s backlog in 2012 grew 38% from the $23.9 billion in 2011 as net orders for its business aircraft almost doubled to 392. The company reported net orders for 191 business aircraft in 2011, but that only included an 11-month period because of a change in the company’s fiscal year.
Hawker Beechcraft’s seven U.S. factory-owned service centers were recognized with the Diamond Award from FAA’s Maintenance Technician Program. The award recognizes 100% employee participation in the program and is based on the number of hours of FAA-approved aviation maintenance training received throughout the year. The centers include two bases in Atlanta, along with facilities in Tampa, Indianapolis, Wichita, Houston, and Wilmington, Del.
EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model EC 155B, EC155B1, SA-365N1, AS-365N2 and AS 365 N3 helicopters [Docket No. FAA-2013-0075; Directorate Identifier 2012-SW-104-AD; Amendment 39-17336; AD 2013-03-02] – supersedes an AD that currently requires inspecting certain tail rotor hubs (TRH) for a crack and removing any cracked TRH. This AD requires the same actions but adds more part numbers to the list of affected TRHs. This AD is prompted by further analysis that indicates that additional part-numbered TRHs must be inspected for cracks.
An International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) committee has agreed to recommend an additional 7 dB reduction in noise levels for aircraft, with the new limits to be put in place at the end of 2017 for large aircraft and the beginning of 2020 for smaller ones, including most business jets.
Piper Aircraft’s drive to level-load its deliveries kept shipments stable through the fourth quarter even as the Vero Beach, Fla.-manufacturer ramped up production, leading to double-digit gains in revenues and deliveries.
